Tipping getting out of hand In the 18th century, a tip was a gratuity given to a servant. The OED's earliest usage of tip involving waiters comes from 1825: "Sir Harry was liberal in his ‘tips’, and consequently a great favorite of Phillips (the waiter)." In this period, however, the word could also denote a bribe, as in this usage from 1819: "To take the tip is to receive a bribe in any shape." People complaining about needless ‘back & forth credit card game’ at restaurants. Or pretend ignorance by coffee shop staff when the iPad spins around. Or the prevalence of POS software in new types of shops that never requested tips before . “Okay, the screen is just gonna ask you a few questions.” Uh-huh, right,, like we both don’t know what this is all about. That last point is the most salient. See, it used to be just a few types of businesses that expected tips. Restaurants, cab drivers, valet parking, housekeeping, etc. But now Americans are seeing prompts...
Comments
Post a Comment